Beautiful Echizen
by hinatachan the itaxnaru luver
Summary: After a blow to the head by a tennis ball, Ryoma awakens in the hospital seeming to be OK on the outside, but everyone else knows better. Ryoma is too cheery! Is Sanada of Rikkai Dai the only one to see Ryoma as, beautiful? Sana/Ryo Shounen-ai. R. M.
1. Hospitalized Echizen!

**Another P.O.T Fic for the fans!**

**Pairing: Sanada/Ryoma**

**Summary: Ryoma is acting differently then when Sanada had last seen him. Meeting Ryoma in a certain part of town, he begins to notice the odd things Ryoma is doing other then play tennis. **

**Warning: Violence.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Prince of Tennis!

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Ryoma Echizen wasn't your average middle schooler. He was an ace for Seigaku's tennis team and a master in his English classes. Sometimes after school and practices, he would practice his skills with his father, Nanjiroh. Practicing on a new skill, Ryoma was hit with one of the balls during his practice with his father. Nanjiroh thought he was just bluffing when he saw his son just lying there and not moving an inch.

Nanjiroh panicked and called for his wife and neice to help him into the car so they could go to the hospital and have him checked out. During the drive towards the hospital, Ryoma was wriggling in his knocked out sleep. His father was swerving this way and that trying to get out of the way of oncoming traffic.

"Watch where you're driving, you'll kill us all!" Ryoma's mother, Rinko exclaimed as she held onto her son's hands with care.

"Shut up! We're almost there!" Nanjiroh shouted as he drove the car into the driveway of the closest hospital he could find.

Leaving the car behind, the family followed Nanjiroh into the hospital, looking for a doctor. Nurses nearby realized the boy in Nanjiroh's arms wasn't moving and they quickly went to Ryoma's aide. Setting Ryoma onto one of the beds in the hospital, one nurse went to fetch a doctor while the other nurse stayed behind for the family.

"I'll need to take a note of what happened." The nurse explained as she got her clip board and pen ready.

"We were both playing tennis and I...accidentally knocked him out with the ball when I was returning it to him." Nanjiroh told the nurse.

"To be easily knocked out with a tennis ball. Must have been some force on it to cause your son to be knocked out like that." Normal people had no idea what sort of acts you could do in sports unless they tried it out for themselves.

"Y-yeah..." Rinko looked sternly at her husband while holding onto Ryoma's hand.

"I suggest to you that this should not happen again!" The nurse told him as the other nurse came back with a doctor next to her.

"Please take a look at him, doctor! My husband was an idiot for not paying attention!" Rinko pleaded as the doctor got out his stethscope and began searching for signs of the heart beating.

"Nothing too serious but this is a head problem so we'll need to keep your son here for a few days until he awakens. LIke I said, might not be serious but you'll want to know for sure, right?" Rinko and her niece looked down with sad expressions.

"Who's going to look after Karupin then?" Nanjiroh asked as the doctor left the room.

"That should be obvious, dear. YOU!" Rinko surprised her husband with her strength as she tossed him out of the room, with the door slamming shut.

"Cruel woman." Nanjiroh rubbed his head and got up quickly and began his trip home.

A few days passed and the Seigaku tennis team members were worried about Ryoma not turning up for two days straight. Tezuka wasn't the least bit worried, or so his face looked. Coach Ryuzaki was informed of this by Ryoma's father and she passed on the news later that day to everyone else. Oishi and Momo were the most worried, leading to the least worried, Kaidoh and Tezuka. But all of them agreed to visit Ryoma while he was still in the hospital.

Eiji brought the get well card while Momoshiro brought snacks and a few souvenirs from the gift shop. The niece had gone back home to her uncle's place while the mother stayed behind.

"So what caused Echizen to get knocked out?" Momoshiro asked as Rinko's hands gripped each other.

"My idiot of a husband was playing tennis with him. He said Ryoma was practicing a new skill until he went to return it, my husband knocked the ball on his head by accident. Now the doctors say he's in a coma and it may take a while for him to be awake."

"Oishi, our poor baby is..." Eiji trailed off and began to cry into Oishi's chest.

"E-Eiji, I know he'll wake up soon." Oishi reassured him.

Hearing noises, Ryoma's eyes began to open slowly. His mind felt blank and his body felt real heavy, as though he were running with a lot of iron bars around his arms and ankles.

"So...noisy..." Ryoma tried to get up but had to put a hand to his head to stop the throbbing.

"E-Echizen-kun!" Rinko immediately hugged her son with full force, crying into his choulder.

"M-mom! Huh, what is everyone doing here?" Ryoma asked as he looked around and he finally realized he was not at home.

"Visiting you, what else. So you got knocked out with a tennis ball, Echizen?" Momo asked him while he tried hard not to laugh.

"I...got knocked out...?" Ryoma felt around on his head and felt a bit of a bump at the very back.

"Ryoma, my baby Ryoma. The doctors told us you were in a coma. Your father is going to get it when we get home!"

"A dream..." Everyone stopped celebrating as they took Ryoma seriously.

"I had a dream with Sanada-san in it. Hurts to remember though." Ryoma rubbed his eyes.

"Just try getting some rest, Ryoma." Rinko laid Ryoma back down and covered him up with the blankets.

The team saw that Ryoma still needed his sleep and left the mother with her son so that Ryoma could get his rest without disruptions, leaving the stuff they brought, behind.

"Still...to dream of Sanada-san of Rikkai Dai. Hope it wasn't a nightmare." They agreed with Oishi and went on their way to their homes.

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**A/n: How's that? Ryoma-kun actually dreamt of Sanada-san. Weird, no? Well see ya next time! Update is real soon!**


	2. Shopping with Echizen part 1

**I've been seeing a few people adding this to their alerts or their fav. so here's a new chapter to celebrate!**

**I don't own anything from Prince of Tennis!

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The doctors checked Ryoma out for any signs of memory loss but he passed most of their tests. Rinko was over joyed and got to bring Ryoma home the next day. Nanjiroh and Nanako rushed over to the door and greeted Ryoma back from the hospital. Nanjiroh couldn't quite place it, but he knew something was a tad bit off on the new Ryoma. He thought it was his eyes playing tricks on him. Was Ryoma in such a cheery mood just returning home from the hospital? He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't daydreaming of seeing a happy son to return home to his family.

"Welcome back, Ryoma-kun!" Nanako hugged him and to Nanjiroh's surprise, Ryoma hugged her back!

He knew his son was too stubborn to accept a hug like that, relative or not. Nanjiroh backed away as Ryoma moved closer to him. Rinko put both her hands on her hips and began to glare at him with an icy stare. Nanjiroh knew not to disappoint his wife, he obeyed and patted Ryoma on the back, laughing in a happy tone.

"Ryoma. Outside." Rinko watched as her husband led Ryoma out onto the tennis court that was just beside the house.

"Ryoma-kun, don't go out, you haven't fully recovered yet! Nanjiroh! Get back inside!" Ryoma scratched the back of his head gently as he watched his father slump over on the porch.

"Mom, why can't I go out to the court with dad?" Rinko gave her son puppy dog eyes that looked like they were about to pour water.

"I don't want to see you get hurt anymore, Ryoma!" She cried into Ryoma's head full of hair and hugged him tightly.

"I-is it alright if I went shopping, mom? There's a few things I wanted to get." Ryoma's face lit up like he was a small kid getting toys.

"Want mommy to come with you?" Rinko asked while looking at her son tearfully.

"Don't baby him! He's twelve years old!" Nanjiroh was still a bit upset about not getting to play tennis right off the bat.

"I'm not, and you should mind your manners!" Rinko went into the kitchen in a huff with Nanako following behind her.

"Here, don't spend all of it in one place!" Nanjiroh had given up in trying to persuade his son and let him go about his business, giving him 800 yen to buy something in the shopping district.

"Thanks, dad!" Ryoma ran off happily with the money in his pocket.

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Ryoma stopped along the way to get his head straight. He wasn't feeling much up to running around just yet and decided to take things slow. He made his way around the shops, looking for something to buy, something that would really stand out on him. He had a hard time choosing what he wanted so he thought to look around some more. He was just rounding the corner when something hard blocked his path, knocking him over onto the curb of the sidewalk.

"S-sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going!" Ryoma got up quickly to apologize to the person.

"Ah...Echizen-kun." Ryoma looked up at the taller man and thought he looked familiar.

"Sanada...san?" As if time had stopped for Ryoma, he begun suddenly seeing rose petals behind Sanada's head.

"Echizen, want to have a match?" Ryoma couldn't understand what the man was talking about.

"A match? What's that?" Sanada couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Echizen, do you still play tennis?" The word 'tennis' seemed to have a bit of an effect on Ryoma.

"N-no." Sanada felt the world had stopped for the moment. Had he heard what he thought he heard?

"What do you mean, Echizen? Aren't you part of the Seigaku tennis team?" Ryoma felt a sudden pain shoot through his head and he clutched at his forehead in agony.

"I...I hate tennis!" Ryoma put both his hands on his head again, feeling slightly dizzy.

"That can't be true...hey, speak to me, Echizen." Sanada caught Ryoma in his arms just as the boy was falling.

Sanada carried Ryoma to a nearby bench in a tennis court not too far from where they were standing.

"S-Sanada-san...it hurts. Make it go away!" Sanada was still shaken from the current news he had recieved and began to wonder if Ryoma was getting sick.

Before Sanada could act, Ryoma suddenly stopped scratching at his forehead and let his arms fall at his sides, dangling off the bench. Clutching his hands into fists, Sanada gripped the sides of the shorts he wore and wondered what could he do to help Echizen over come whatever he had.

"What should I do...Echizen?" Sanada asked ryoma.

"Well...I would really like to go shopping but I only have 800 yen on me." Sanada couldn't believe what was happening. One minute Ryoma was in pain, the next, he was feeling suddenly bright and cheerful.

"A-ah...I see. So you're fine then, Echizen?" Sanada asked as he let his hands regain their original position.

"You can call me Ryoma if you want." Echizen looked up at the taller man and smiled.

"R-Ryoma...are you sure you're all right?" The boy nodded and got off the bench and acted like he was on a stage, performing.

"Ta-da!" Ryoma laughed and began to pull at Sanada's hand.

"R-Ryoma, wait!" Sanada couldn't see how the once, stubborn and gloomy Echizen had now become a little kid with the snap of a finger.

"Sanada-senpai, could we go shopping for some clothes?" Sanada had no choice but to agree but he would secretly watch over Ryoma until he figured out what was wrong.

To bring him to the hospital in this state, when he knew Ryoma wouldn't want anyone but him with him. Sanada stopped himself from thinking too much into it and decided to let Ryoma have his fun for the time being. He glanced around to realize that Ryoma had disappeared from his sight and he began to frantically look around for him.

"Boo!" Ryoma placed his hands over Sanada's eyes and laughed.

"Ryoma, stop the childish acts!" Sanada grabbed onto Ryoma's hands, pulling Ryoma around him to face him.

"S-Sanada-senpai...I-I'm sorry. You must hate me now..." Ryoma looked away, bashul to say anything else to the man to claim he was sorry.

"It's fine. Just don't scare me like that...Ryoma." Sanada let out a sigh of relief, glad to have found him but a bit puzzled as to why Ryoma would say he hated tennis and why he was acting so happy, not that it was a crime to be.

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**A/n: Oh my, Sanada-senpai, please grab my hands too! Just kidding! But if you liked this chapter, please let me know, yeah?**


	3. Shopping with Echizen part 2

**It's good to hear that I made Ryoma very cheerful. I don't plan on over doing it but I do hope for him to become very open with himself. I don't think Sanada's gonna be too happy though, I mean having no tennis buddy and all. But, let's see what happens now!**

**The only warnings I'll give: Violence, slight romance between two males. You have been warned!**

**I do not own Prince of tennis!

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Sanada was alone and desperate to find out what had happened to the Ryoma Echizen he once knew as a player. The Ryoma now couldn't possibly be _this_ cheerful! He was at a loss as he watched the smiling Ryoma prance around from one clothes shop to the other with great agility. Seeing things that couldn't get any worse then baby sitting, he met an all too familiar person in one of the shops. Tezuka, the captain of Ryoma's team. Sanada looked around for Echizen, caught hold of the boy's collar of the shirt and began dragging him out of the store without being noticed by the captain.

He let out a sigh of relief only to see Momo and Eiji on the other side of the street. He let out a low growling sound and took Ryoma by the hand and ran off the opposite way. He was not about to let Ryoma's team mates find out that the boy had now officially stated he hates tennis. He would have to first break him back into learning the game first.

"Where are we going, Sanada-senpai?" Ryoma asked while Sanada looked around for a free tennis court they could use.

"You're going to learn tennis. We can't let your team know about such a crucial thing, especially that Inui guy." Sanada led Ryoma to the bench of the court and sat him down.

"I thought I told you already, I don't like tennis. What's so great about a bunch of guys jumping in the air? Take me shopping!" Sanada had enough of the bad talk that Ryoma was saying.

Raising his hand, Sanada struck Ryoma across the face. Echizen was in shock but Sanada knew it was for Ryoma's own good to know that he had gone too far in to trash talking about his favorite sport. Ryoma held his hand to his cheek and looked up at Sanada in a horrified state.

"It's not just a bunch of guys jumping around. There's more to it! Each time you play against another person, you automatically learn more then you used to know in the next time you play.

In other words. You evolve like a caterpiller does when it turns into a butterfly. It should be common sense among tennis players, serious ones. And some who do it for the thrill of driving a ball past the opponent. It's a thrill never ending. If you think it's a bunch of guys jumping around...try it yourself." Sanada walked away to pick out two racquets from his bag.

Echizen let his hand fall to the side of his leg, making sniffling sounds. Noticing Ryoma getting up, Sanada caught his arm before the boy could run away.

"They don't have real emotions when they play! All they think about is tennis! Why should I learn a sport like that?" Sanada could sort of see what Ryoma was saying. But there was more to this story, more then he could place his fingers on.

"You know how to play. Just play one game with me. If I win, I'll have you learn tennis. If you win...you'll quit the Seigaku tennis team." The name 'Seigaku' rung a bell in Echizen's ear.

"My team?" Sanada nodded in response to Ryoma's question and walked out onto the empty court that was placed for singles.

Ryoma followed and got into position on the other side, mimicking Sanada. He held the handle of the racquet firmly in his hands, gripping it and getting prepared to return anything that Sanada was going to throw at him.

Throwing the ball into the air, Sanada smacked the ball at top speed, enough for Echizen to miss the ball. The man was confused. This was a ball that even Ryoma could have gotten or at least reacted to. Ryoma became serious and thought about the last shot.

Ryoma notioned for Sanada to throw him another ball, telling him with his looks that he wasn't done yet. Throwing the ball into the air, Ryoma watched the ball from afar and concentrated as Sanada slammed the ball, aiming for Ryoma.

Echizen's body reacted and he caught it with ease, returning the shot with a great amount of power, knocking Sanada's racquet out of his hands. Sanada looked up with a surprised look, hoping to see some sign of the real Echizen but for some reason, he could only see a happy child playing tennis. He picked up his racquet and took out another ball.

"Mada Mada Dane." Sanada saw that same, fierce look that Ryoma always had when playing against others and Sanada smiled. This was the Echizen he was hoping for!

Ryoma's returns were getting stronger by the minute but he was starting to sweat. He ran to catch another ball but tripped over his feet and fell with a THUD. Sanada rushed over to see if he was all right. Trying to help Ryoma to his feet, he tripped over his own shoes and fell backward, letting go of Ryoma's hands he let the boy fall foward onto his chest.

The wind picked up a bit and blew their way, causing Ryoma's hair to flow with the wind. Neither of them knew what to say first to each other except apologise.

"I'm sorry for hitting you, Echizen." Sanada was feeling friendly and in a better mood then a while ago. He felt Ryoma's cheek and could still feel the heated area from where he struck him.

"No! I'm sorry for saying tennis was stupid! It's a lot of hard work getting to where you are now, huh. Please don't make me quit...whatever team I'm in. I want to do my best for it! So...can we go shopping now?" Ryoma gave him a smile as Sanada patted Ryoma's head.

"What's caught your eye, Ryoma?" Sanada asked while Ryoma began to get up.

"Can we get something to eat first?" Sanada smiled and got up, dusting off the back of his shorts.

He returned the two racquets to his bag and allowed Ryoma to pull him along for the walk. Maybe this wasn't bad for Ryoma to do every once in a while. Ryoma pulled him along and stopped in front of a hamburger joint. Sanada recognized the shop as the one that Momo, Eiji and Ryoma used to hang out around.

"How many burgers do you want?" Sanada asked.

"As many as Sanada-senpai wants!" Ryoma exclaimed as he ran inside with great enthusiasm.

Sanada had no choice but to follow Ryoma's lead as he sat at one of the tables followed closely by Echizen who had a big smile on his face. One of the women working there, came by with two menus in her arms and gave them the menus.

"Just let me know, when you want to order and I'll be right over, OK?" The girl smiled and rushed off to take another person's order.

"Sanada-senpai, look! They have a new chocolate syrup sundae! Do you want one?" Sanada smiled softly at Ryoma.

"I'll eat whatever you eat, Ryoma." Echizen blushed a little and used the menu to cover his face.

"L-let's have one of these then!" Ryoma replied happily. Sanada waved the woman over to give her their order. She wrote it down and took it to the counter.

The woman came back 5 minutes later with a double scooped, chocolate ice cream with sprinkles and chocolate syrup poured over it, gracefully. A cherry was placed at the top and two spoons stuck out at both ends. Ryoma had no problem with it and began to dig into it. Sanada took the other spoon and ate along side Ryoma.

As for the cherry that had been placed on top, gave the cherry to Ryoma, letting Ryoma eat it out of his hands. Pulling out the stick at the end of the cherry, Echizen rested the stick on the extra napkin they got with the sundae.

"Hey, Echizen, you were here?" Ryoma and Sanada looked over at the door way and standing there were St. Rudolph's Yuuta Fuji and Mizuki.

"Do I know them, Sanada-senpai?" The said man couldn't see why Ryoma couldn't remember tennis players other then himself.

"Yeah. You played against the one with the scar on his head. He's the brother of syusuke Fuji, the guy who's on your team for Seigaku. He's a friend of yours. His name is Yuuta."

"Y-Yuuta...I've heard that name before..." Ryoma thought as the two walked over to their table.

"What a pleasure it is to see Ryoma Echizen with RikkaiDai's Sanada-san." Mizuki told them as he twirled the front of his hair with his fingers.

"Echizen, did you and Sanada-san have a match? I'll play you if you want."

"A-actually, Echizen and I were just leaving. See you around, Mizuki, Yuuta." Sanada placed his money on the table and left with Ryoma behind him.

"Hm...something tells me Sanada-san is hiding something. Come, Yuuta."

"But what about lunch? We were just about to have something to eat. My brother says I shouldn't miss-"

"This deserves our attention much more!" Mizuki pushed Yuuta out of the burger place.

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**A/n: Oh dear, Sanada-san and Echizen-kun are about to be followed. What will happen? Will Mizuki learn Ryoma's secret? STAY TUNED!**


	4. Mizuki's evil plot

**I went ballistic today, my poor computer was being traumitized. I was in a frenzy when my Sapcebar wasn't working right. But now that it is, thank god!**

**Warning: Contains Scheming, slight romance between two males. You have been warned!**

**I don't own anything of Prince of tennis!**

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Just a couple of feet from the shopping duo were St. Rudolph's tennis team members, Yuuta and Mizuki. It had been a whole twenty minutes after they had run into the two at the burger place, and they were far from capturing any sort of secrets that Sanada might have been keeping from Mizuki and Yuuta. Yuuta was uncomfortable in the crouching positions that Mizuki was putting him through and was constantly repositioning himself while his friend watched their prey through a pair of binoculars that he had brought with him everywhere he went.

"M-Mizuki, are you sure they're hiding something?" Yuuta asked as he peered around the street lamp post they had been crouching behind.

"If you don't question things, you'll never know what to expect. Just follow my lead." Mizuki quickly let go of his binoculars and pulled a pair of sunglasses from his pocket, sticking them on his face smoothly.

"What are you doing, Mizuki?" Yuuta asked as he quickly joined Mizuki and stood next to him, watching Sanada and Ryoma.

"It's called a disguise, Yuuta. You should know about these things when you're travelling with me. Be careful, Yuuta, they could catch onto you." Yuuta scratched his head nervously and smiled.

"I-I don't really think that's an issue." Mizuki put his finger to his lips and notioned for him to be quiet.

They looked side ways to where Echizen and Sanada had been standing and watched as the two of them went into another store. Mizuki smiled and gracefully stepped into the store with Yuuta close behind him. Feeling proud to be doing something sneaky, Mizuki pulled his sunglasses slightly down the bridge of his nose, making himself look more cool then he was acting. Yuuta looked around nervously and found Echizen glancing at some T-shirts on a nearby rack.

"Mizuki, Echizen looks normal to me, we should just drop this game for today."

"Are you mad, Yuuta? If Sanada _is _hiding something, then it could mean trouble for our team. Seigaku and RikkaiDai could be planning to work together on something. And if that's the case, _our _team could be at a great loss! I will not accept such an act against tennis. You should keep note of this, Yuuta. Teams should not be working together, it's not natural. We'll crack down on all the clues we have so far." Yuuta smiled in agreement out of respect.

"Mizuki, I think you're thinking too far into this. Have you ever thought about becoming a detective? And what kind of clues do we have to begin with?" Mizuki shushed him and didn't answer his questions.

Sanada was waiting at the register while Echizen was picking something out. Neither of them had seemed to notice that they were being watched. Mizuki and Yuuta looked on as Ryoma found a shirt he liked and brought it to the counter. Mizuki smiled as though he figured out what was going on.

"They're shopping together!" Mizuki exclaimed proudly.

"That was obvious and this is pointless." Yuuta went to get up from crouching for so long until he was dragged back down by Mizuki.

"No! We have to figure out why they are shopping together. Don't you question the reason for them being together? I know Echizen wouldn't want to hang around a stiff person like him, he's always found hanging around Momoshiro!"

"You sure know a lot about Echizen. Have you been stalking him, Mizuki?" Yuuta could feel an ominous aura coming from Mizuki.

"Not really. Well...maybe a little, but only because he's an interesting freshman. We need people like Echizen on our team!"

"I think it's too late for Echizen to change schools now. He's gotten used to being in Seigaku. Let's just leave them be-" Yuuta was cut off as Mizuki ignored what he was saying.

Jumping from his crouching position, Mizuki followed Sanada and Echizen out of the store with Yuuta in tow. Sanada and Echizen rounded the corner of the store and began to cross the street, the lights changed all of a sudden and witnessing Sanada pull Ryoma out of the way from traffic, were Mizuki and Yuuta. Mizuki was shocked to see Echizen smiling so care free while Yuuta had trouble seeing what was so surprising about the scene.

Without noticing it, Sanada had his arm draped over Echizen's shoulder as though he were out on a date with him. Mizuki and Yuuta both noticed this and were now beginning to question just what were Echizen and Sanada to each other?

Yuuta and Mizuki followed them once again across the street and were watching from afar as the other duo stepped into a picture booth. Mizuki and Yuuta looked at each other in shock.

"Sanada-san, you look like a monkey in this one!" Ryoma laughed as another picture came out.

"You brat." Sanada pouted but laughed with Echizen anyway.

Mizuki began to write something down on a notepad as Yuuta watched them for Mizuki. Curious as to what was happening in the booth, seeing the curtain moving quite a lot, Yuuta went to see what was going on. He gulped as he took a few steps forward to the booth. He could hear laughing going on but then there was a sudden silence.

Yuuta felt an arm turn his body around and facing him was Mizuki who had now finished writing in his pad.

"Don't wander off! What's that sound?" Mizuki and Yuuta began to hear strange noises coming from the picture booth.

The both of them were now curious and Mizuki lifted the picture booth, slightly without a sound and got a peek at what was going on. He blinked several times to see that this was real and not make believe. He backed away in a hurry and allowed Yuuta to see.

"M-Mizuki, did you know of their relationship?" The said man started to look very hot headed for some reason.

"N-no! And besides, there's probably a reason he's doing that. Sanada must have threatened him at some point. There's no way Echizen would allow that to happen! Regain your position and make it look like you're waiting for me!" Mizuki suddenly pushed Yuuta into the guard rail at the side of the sidewalk and disappeared in a flash.

Hearing the duo coming out of the booth, Yuuta did as Mizuki told him to and looked as though he were actually waiting for someone. Trying not to make eye contact with either Echizen or Sanada, Yuuta glanced around looking to where Mizuki had gone off to.

"S-sorry for making you wait, Yuuta-kun." Yuuta looked around and saw that a woman who had an appearance strikingly close to Mizuki, had popped up out of no where and was now approaching him.

Echizen and Sanada hadn't realized that Mizuki and Yuuta were there and were on their way again.

"M-Mizuki-san, where'd you get these clothes?" Yuuta asked as the seemingly hot, but flustered Mizuki was now following the other two at a high speed.

Yuuta ran to catch up with Mizuki just as Echizen and Sanada crossed another street. Mizuki was fuelling with rage as to why his disguise wasn't attracting their attention in the slightest. It finally hit him. What if they really were on a date as what he had seen earlier being the proof? He gave a low growl and ran in the high heels he had on his feet. Dressing as a woman had its disadvantages.

Mizuki stopped, realizing that Echizen and Sanada had stopped at a nearby hotel. His face lit up with amusement. Yuuta finally caught up with him but was shocked to see Mizuki rush off into the hotel building. Glancing around, Mizuki made himself appear like a lady with a lot of cash on hand. He spotted them at the counter and sat himself down on a sofa with Yuuta next to him.

"Please don't rush, Mizuki-san. It's hard to catch up to you." Yuuta whined as Mizuki watched them go up in the elevator.

"Yuuta. Let me borrow your phone!" Mizuki held out his hand impatiently.

"What? B-but-" Mizuki ignored him and grabbed Yuuta's phone from his pocket.

"I just got the perfect plan. To break those two away, I'll need your help! I'll call up Echizen and tell him that you've been kidnapped. Then when he comes back down, you'll explain that they won't let you off so easily next time and then you'll bring him up to their room! It's a perfect plan!" Mizuki seemed really into it.

"But...Mizuki-san, how are we going to know what room they're in?" Mizuki gave Yuuta a look that said, 'I've got a plan.'

"Just wait outside the hotel and I'll phone you. I'll give Sanada-san a call first." Yuuta did as Mizuki had said and waited outside.

Mizuki dialed Sanada's number and cleared his throat to prepare his best acting skills. He smiled as the phone began to ring. This was positively the best idea he's had yet.

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**A/n: I wonder what Mizuki has up his sleeve! And what were Echizen and Sanada-senpai doing in the booth? And what the hell are these two doing in a hotel anyway? RXR TBC!**


	5. I hate senpai!

**I'm back again! I love this story too! I can't stop typing!**

**Warning: Contains a scene meant for teens 16+.**

**I don't own pot!

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Sanada felt his phone vibrating against his leg just as they had gotten off onto their floor. He let Echizen go ahead as he picked up the phone.

"Hello?" Sanada waited for the person on the other line.

"For Echizen? Ah, sure. Hold on a minute. Echizen!" Sanada caught up to Ryoma as they got into their room.

"Who is it?" Ryoma asked.

"I'm not sure but it sounds like a woman asking for you." Echizen thought for a moment.

He took the phone out of Sanada's hands and held it up to his ear, listening carefully.

"Ah...yes? I-I see. I will, thank you." Ryoma hung up the phone and gave it back to Sanada.

"Who was it, Ryoma?" Sanada asked as he took the cap on his head, off for the day and set it on a night stand next to the bed.

"My cousin. She said something about my father being in a panic right now so I couldn't really tell what was going on. I've got to go right now, I'll be right back!" Without another word, Echizen dashed out of the room, down the hall and pressed the elevator button.

Mizuka smiled and gave Yuuta the signal to come back in. Mizuki went to the elevator and waited for one of them to come down. He had already seen what floor they had gotten off to and he had also gotten what room they were given. His plan was set into motion already. Echizen was already in one of the elevators coming down and without looking where he was going, Ryoma was off in a hurry.

'That's right, Echizen. You're darling friend, Yuuta is in a bind. Will you save him in time?' Mizuki thought as he got onto the elevator that had Ryoma on it just previously.

Mizuki pushed the 5th floor button and smiled as the doors to the elevator closed. A bunch of other people got on but to Mizuki it didn't matter. As long as he was able to get to the 5th floor, which was sure was not going to be a problem. The elevator stopped at the fourth floor first before stopping at the fifth and Mizuki was sure that he felt someone groping him from the side but he let the incident pass and got off his desired floor.

Yuuta on the other hand had been found by Echizen and began telling the boy a terrible lie.

"If...we don't hurry...Sanada-san...might be dead." Ryoma's eyes grew wide with fear and let Yuuta rest on the hotel's sofa while he rushed to the elevator that had just gone down.

Yuuta felt bad for telling an awful lie but he also felt a duty to protect his own team from conspiracies from others. Yuuta licked off the fake blood that was actually ketchup off the side of his lip and wiped away the dirt from his forehead. He still hadn't known what Mizuki was planning but he knew it couldn't be a good thing either.

Mizuki had somehow passed as a woman who had just fainted and was now pretending to come out of the small nap he just had. Sanada heard Mizuki waking up and stood over him.

"I-I'm sorry! I guess I haven't had enough to eat." The woman Mizuki looked up at the worried face of Sanada and smiled lightly.

Mizuki heard the door opening up and he threw his arms around Sanada's neck. The door opened all the way to reveal Ryoma standing there, looking like he had just run a marathon. Mizuki saw this chance and placed a kiss on Sanada as he was just about to look over at Echizen. Sanada was in a shocked state before he could react.

"Oh! I'm so ashamed! Is he your lover?" Mizuki asked in his womanly voice.

Ryoma's eyes began to tear up while Sanada tried to take Mizuki's arms off from over his head. Echizen stepped back a few steps before running off down the hall to the elevator. Sanada quickly left the fake woman's side and ran after Ryoma like a dog chasing a rabbit.

"How rude. Men shouldn't just leave a woman alone like this...What will you do now, Echizen?" Mizuki smiled to himself and got up from the luxurious bed.

Yuuta looked up in time to see Ryoma rushing out of the hotel with Sanada right behind him. He sighed and got up to go to the room where Mizuki was in. He was feeling the effects of actually lying to a person and he was feeling a little guilty about it. But he knew that if Sanada was chasing after him, Ryoma couldn't be more upset.

"What in the world did you do to make Echizen cry like that?" Yuuta asked as he stepped into the room.

"I just showed him something. How far has Sanada-san gone?" Yuuta shrugged his shoulders.

"I saw the both of them running out of the hotel so I can't really say what's happening now. I feel bad, Mizuki. Maybe we should let my brother know about Echizen's feelings."

"Absolutely not! That man doesn't deserve to hear this sort of drama! I refuse your opinion, we will not contact your brother!" With this said, Mizuki handed Yuuta back his phone and began to undress out of the woman disguise he had on.

"I've never seen Echizen act like that before. Do you think...he really does like Sanada-san?" Yuuta asked him as the two of them began to head down to the lobby of the hotel.

"Probably. And we should do our best to reach Echizen before Sanada-san does!"

"W-what for? We shouldn't meddle into things like this." Mizuki gave Yuuta a smile.

"Because if we don't, then Echizen will feel the need to be by Sanada's side and will want to join his school and tennis team just to be with him!" Yuuta let out long sigh as Mizuki went on about Ryoma changing schools.

* * *

Sanada had finally caught up with Echizen's pace and was now racing to catch onto his sleeve.

"Quit following me already! You must be such a lucky guy being able to hook up with women like her. To have a cousin who owns such a great building must have a lot of money to dish around! You could have told me you had a girlfriend." Drops of water fell from Ryoma's face and splashed onto the sidewalk.

As though the sky began to cry, the sun was covered with clouds and a rumbling sound grew in the distance. Water fell from the sky like a bucket of ice water.

"It wasn't like that, Ryoma. She just fainted and I helped her to the bed!" Ryoma turned around to face Sanada.

"You kissed her." Sanada looked away and didn't respond.

"She forced herself on me-" Before Sanada could get another word in, Ryoma was quick with his own.

"You're a liar! All men say that! Sanada-senpai...I...I...hate you!" Ryoma turned and ran off across the street, leaving Sanada to stand in the rain alone.

'A liar...huh. I guess that's true...' Sanada looked up to the sky and brushed his wet hair back with his fingers.

* * *

**A/n: Awww. Poor Ryoma-kun! So what does Mizuki and Yuuta have up their sleeves this time around? And will Sanada get to apologise? STAY TUNED!**


	6. Overcoming Fear

**I'm glad people like it! I finished my exam, hence I was in my co-op class so there's only one test to begin with! I am thankful to announce more uploads will be happening since I'll be home for two weeks!**

**Warning: Contains mixed feelings, jealousy, more drama!**

**I don't own anything from Prince of tennis!

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**

A couple of days passed by and Ryoma still hadn't shown up for school or tennis practices and the rest of the team were beginning to worry about him. Coach Ryuzaki had heard the news from Nanjiroh about Ryoma's current 'dislike' for tennis and he had told her that he wouldn't even pick up one of his own racquets. The coach began wondering if Ryoma's refusing of tennis was connected to the head injury that he substained from his father.

Rinko, Ryoma's mother, was also worrying about her son and came up to his room every now and then to see if he was asleep and if he was feeling well. He didn't have a fever which was why his mother began to crack down on him as though he were her teenage daughter who was keeping secrets from her mother.

"Ryoma, dear, you shouldn't skip out on school like this. Your friends must miss you." Rinko exclaimed as she sat down on the side of Ryoma's bed.

Ryoma lowered his blanket until his mother could see his full face. His eyes were watery and tears leaked from his face, causing him to look very miserable.

"Have...you been crying, Ryoma? What's wrong, tell me!" Rinko asked her son.

"Do you think...it's a coincidence to see your lover kiss another person? Like someone else sets it up before you walk into a room?"

"Well, I do remember something like that happening to me in my younger years. Before I met your father." Ryoma wiped his tears away and gave his mother full attention.

"It seemed like only yesterday he asked me out on a date. At first I didn't know what to say to him so I sort of left him without an answer. A few days later, he came and asked me again. Of course I said yes, just so I wouldn't be the only girl without a boyfriend. It was great until that woman showed up. Apparently, she was his ex-girlfriend.

She would always try to steal him away every time I came close to him. At that point, I began to get really annoyed with her. So I told him, it was either me or her. He chose me which got the other girl really jealous and she didn't bother giving up.

We went out on a few dates and that's how the problem occured. We went out to a resturaunt but neither of us knew that she had followed us. She set up a great trap for me. She dressed as a guy, which I found a little strange and she pretended to pick a fight with my boyfriend.

I watched him as he dodged her punches, at first she was really good at throwing them. But...she wasn't very good at dodging his punches. She was punched in the stomach and face before she would give up. She revealed herself and he began feeling terrible for her. Before I knew it, she planted a kiss on him in an instant. He...accepted her feelings and I left it at that. I wonder how he's doing now.

You shouldn't give up, Ryoma. Who ever it is you like, you should go forward to what your feelings tell you to. Steal the person back! And get dressed already, it's almost lunch time!" Ryoma let out a low groaning sound.

'Never give up...Sanada-senpai.' Ryoma smiled and began to get out of bed, getting his clothes on and brushing out his hair.

He made sure his shirt was buttoned all the way up and that his tennis bag was hung on his shoulder nicely. He rushed off with a piece of toast still hanging from his mouth. Chewing on the corner, he left the house in a hurry and ran down the street after passing the gates.

* * *

After he got to the school, he headed straight for class. It was now lunch time and students were filing out of their classes to get in line for the small food shop in their school. Horio and the others saw that Echizen had finally come to school, they greeted him with smiles.

"Ryoma-kun, are you feeling better?" Sakuno asked as he sat down in his regular class room.

"A little. How's the tennis team holding up?" He asked as he sat down and pulled a bento box from his bag.

"Well...Momo-senpai got a bit mad that you're not showing up for practice and the captain seems a little uptight about your absence as well. Other than that, the other senpais seem more fired up this time around. You shouldn't skip practice, Echizen!" Horio let out a long sigh as Ryoma stuck an egg roll in his mouth without a worried face about the tennis team.

Sakuno heard from her grandmother about Echizen's recovering over the past few days and understood it would be hard for Ryoma to play just right after getting out of the hospital.

"Momo-senpai?" Ryoma asked as he thought carefully about where he had heard the name from.

His memories were still fuzzy and the only person ingraved on his mind was Sanada. Just having the man in his mind was having a bad effect on Echizen. He stopped eating his lunch and began staring out the window. Was this the last time he would ever see him again? He poked at his lunch and began to mope about the past events that had occured.

Sakuno waved everyone off from asking too many questions or pressuring him and saved Ryoma the trouble of trying to shake them off like he would usually do. Ryoma ignored everyone around him and packed up his lunch box and stuck it back into his school bag.

A knock on the door caught Ryoma's attention. He looked over and saw the man that had been on his mind all this time. Sanada, who seemed out of breath, was looking around for something or someone. Echizen got up from his seat and walked up to Sanada, not caring whether people were watching or not. Sanada looked in front of him and saw Ryoma standing there.

"Ryoma, I-" Everyone who was in the class with Ryoma turned their heads to see what the commotion was about.

Echizen held his hand to his chest after realizing what he did. Sanada seemed to have been expecting the slap though and didn't bother to look Ryoma in the face. The people around them watched in fascination at what was going to happen next.

"Because what my mom said was true...I'll forgive you, Sanada-senpai." Sanada saw tears falling from Ryoma's face and he put a hand on Ryoma's cheek, wiping away the tears.

"I'm sorry, Ryoma." Without another hesitation, Sanada pulled Ryoma into a hug not noticing the many eyes were watching them.

"S-Sanada-senpai, I'm in class!" Sanada looked up and blushed to realize the embarrassing moment he had just shared with the class.

"S-sorry, Ryoma. I...really am sorry..." Ryoma pushed the older boy out of his class.

"Like I said, I forgive you! You must have school to go back to, don't you?" Sanada looked down at his wrist watch and scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, sorry, Ryoma. I'll take you out after school, OK?" Sanada smiled down at him and caressed his hair.

"Um...about my team...could you come with me? I might need your help." Sanada understood what he was talking about.

Not knowing who Yuuta and Mizuki were at first was one surprise, but to not know your own team mates, was going to be a hard thing to discover. Sanada agreed to the request and left without another word. Ryoma began to feel a little better knowing that he had come to see him. He was hyped up to know his team mates with the help of Sanada.

* * *

**A/n: Wow, I want Sanada-senpai now! Lol. Well that's all the time I have now, but I will update soon. It's going to get a lot more complicated! STAY TUNED!**


	7. Bad people

**I'm getting too much into this story I love it way too much! .**

**Warning: Contains male/male interaction. Don't like it? Get out now!**

**I don't own anything of Prince of tennis!**

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The rumors were spreading like a wild fire in a dry forest and it began to reach the ears of Seigaku's tennis team. Most of the girls in Echizen's class began to talk among themselves, whether or not this 'Sanada' person had just asked Ryoma out on a date and they had been in a very excited mood for the rest of the week. The boys on the other hand had wondered where the awkward atmosphere had come from. As for Ryoma himself, he had been ignoring what everyone had been saying about him and Sanada and focused more in class.

But the more Echizen focused in class, the more his mind went to a blank page. He began to imagine strange words being said and someone who was whispering to him when there was no one around him during this time. Ryoma put his head down to block the images out but they just kept coming like he was being shown a movie inside his brain. Blocking the outside world, Ryoma tried to block the images out at the same time.

"Hey, Echizen. Is it true?" The images in Ryoma's head disappeared and the pain in his head seemed to have vanished along with the images.

Opening his eyes, Ryoma saw his team mates, Momoshiro and Eiji standing before him with worried looks on their faces. Ryoma rubbed his eyes and smiled up at them.

"Is what true?" Momo and Eiji looked at each other and showed Echizen a picture.

Ryoma looked at the picture carefully and nearly fell out of his seat. Feeling a little bit embarrassed that he and Sanada had been caught hugging in between the doorway of the classroom and the hallway. Back then, Ryoma hadn't really been thinking very clearly and was pulled into the moment by Sanada. Echizen sunk into his seat fearing the worst that someone had been selling these pictures or even worse, showing them to a teacher and might try to get him expelled by posting fake pictures up of him on a chalkboard.

"Our poor baby. Forgets who we are and then this happens to him. Momo-chan! This is a serious problem!" Eiji exclaimed as he rubbed his face against Ryoma's.

"I'm sure Inui must know who it is by now. Let's go see if we can find some clues." Ryoma began to feel a little better after hearing his team mates were offering to help him out and followed them to Inui's class.

Inui's class was almost empty compared to the other classes and the two of them saw why. Ryoma on the other hand looked disgusted to just going inside where the older boy was performing his scientific studies on juices. The older teen straightened his glasses and poured a drop of some red liquid into a glass with green liquid in it and a small cloud of black smoke arose from the cup.

"Ninety percent done. Ten percent a failure." Inui spoke out as he jotted his recent percentages down in his small hand book.

"Inui! Put that down and help us!" The said man looked up from his book and then up at Eiji who had a concerned look on his face while waving his arms wildly.

"I'll try to be of much help as I can. If you want to know about who had taken that picture, it was-" Before Eiji, Momo and Ryoma could hear the name being called, Kaidoh, the team's human-snake had barged his way into the class room and was now dragging the scientist student out of the class room in a huffy mood.

"Momo-senpai, Eiji-senpai, thanks for all that you have done. But I got to go see someone right now." With that said, Ryoma walked out of the classroom and down the hall.

"Poor kid. I wonder if Tezuka's heard about it." Eiji asked as he turned to face Momo.

"Don't start feeling sorry for Echizen. He got mixed up with one of our enemies, I'm sure he's got a plan to get himself out. We can't meddle in these things. Or so Tezuka would say, let's go help the poor bastard!" Momoshiro had Eiji going there for a second and it took a few seconds to sink in before the other boy realized what had been said.

"How are we going to help him? We can't follow him, he might notice us." Momoshiro flicked his index finger sideways in a 'no' gesture.

"Not if we're in disguise he won't." Eiji's face lit up with excitement as Momo told his great plan to him.

Ryoma felt humiliated and angry at the same time that the other students were making fun of him and Sanada. The girls that were walking in the halls and passing Ryoma as they did, were giggling and chatting amongst themselves. One of them even stopped Ryoma in his tracks and was now asking for an autograph. Ryoma was puzzled as to why the girl would want his autograph when all he did was hug another man. He signed a paper for her anyway and received a loud shrieking sound in his ears before he went about his way.

In his pockets, something was vibrating against his leg and he knew it was his cell phone. He pulled the small phone out of his pocket and flipped up the cover. Speaking of the man he had been hugging the day before, he quickly rushed outside of the school and put the phone up to his ear. If anyone could make his day better, it was Sanada-san. The older male always knew what to say and had great suggestions for him.

"Sanada-senpai, could I...um...see you for a bit. It's urgent." Ryoma felt insecure about whether it was safe or not to be talking over the phone about his problems.

"I'm fine it's just, please meet me at my school after school is over." Ryoma felt like he had a giant stomach ache with a fever at the same time. Sanada was the most likely to win an award for being nicest person in the entire world.

He had been told by the older teen that he had a practice match to be at soon but had explained a different situation with his team mates and told them he wouldn't be able to go to the practices with them today. Echizen hung up the phone after saying his goodbyes and stuck the phone back into his pocket. Feeling the sensation of being watched, Ryoma looked around but didn't see anyone out of the ordinary.

Ryoma was about to walk back into his school but something white caught his eye. Turning back quickly, he noticed that the bushes were shaking and someone or something was making a bit of noise behind them. He rushed over and pulled the bushes apart and was surprised to see the two people he had met a few days ago. Yuuta and Mizuki.

"Yuuta-senpai. You lied to me!" Ryoma went to take a slap to Yuuta's face but his hand got caught by Mizuki's hands.

"The crazy things a kid can say, Yuuta, get some rope and duct tape. We'll put on a great show for Sanada-san." Yuuta looked at Mizuki and Ryoma with a pained look.

"Mizuki...we're not doing anything bad to Echizen are we?" Mizuki held Ryoma against his body and smiled eerily at Yuuta and down at the boy.

"Of course not. We shouldn't get our hands dirty for such a tramp like this one. I'll prepare the note for his school and Sanada after we tie him up. His team won't be able to go anywhere without their prized tennis player." Mizuki snarled and grinned from ear to ear as he led both Ryoma and Yuuta to an empty gym in the school.

Mizuki found the equipment room immediately and pushed Ryoma toward the small room that was sealed and required the assistance of a key. Yuuta was given a strange look from Mizuki.

"You should be knowledgeable with this sort of thing." Yuuta scowled a little but took a paper clip from his pocket and rearranged the clip so that it was taken from its original shape.

Using the point of the paper clip, Yuuta stuck the paper clip into the key socket. He moved it around a bit until they heard a click sound. Mizuki smiled and shoved Yuuta away from the entry way of the equipment room. He turned the door knob and opened the door revealing what equipment the gym had stored.

Mizuki chuckled as he handed Echizen to Yuuta, placing Yuuta's hands over Ryoma's mouth and hands that had been held behind his back all this time. Mizuki rummaged through the bins that were on a shelf and with luck on his side, found a bit of rope. He pulled the rope out along with a piece of duct tape that was stuck to the rope.

"My, my, isn't this just a weird little coincidence?" Mizuki asked and straightened the rope out a bit while taking the tape off and fanned it out, making sure there was enough stickiness to it.

Ryoma struggled with Yuuta to release his hands but they were in a tight hold against his own. Mizuki smiled down at Ryoma as he stuck the duct tape onto the boy's mouth firmly. Using a pair of scissors from one of the bins in the room, Mizuki cut off the amount of rope they needed and took Echizen off of Yuuta's hands while turning the boy around so that Ryoma's back was facing him.

Mizuki tied their prisoner up by binding the boy's arms first and then laid him down to tie up his feet. Yuuta looked away while Mizuki pulled out a video camera from his bag.

"Ryoma, do you care to say a few words to Sanada-san for me?" Ryoma looked away from the camera while Mizuki enjoyed watching the sight of a tied up tennis player.

All three of them heard a buzzing sound and began looking around. Only Ryoma knew it was his phone until Mizuki caught the sight of Ryoma's pant leg shivering like it had a cold. He smiled again and took the vibrating phone out of the pocket. Still smiling to himself, Mizuki flipped the phone open while he handed Yuuta the camera to hold onto.

"You have reached Echizen but since he's not able to speak, I'll take your call for him. You see, Sanada-san, there are nice people and then there are the bad people who act nice. I'll be giving you a video tape soon and it will show how low, Ryoma can get when he's pressured. I even wonder if this will affect his team in any way. He is quite known around these parts. That's all I have to say, good bye, Sanada-san."

Mizuki hung the phone up and placed the phone in his pocket. He took the video camera back from Yuuta who was now looking away from the situation. Mizuki zoomed in on Ryoma's face and then his chest that was rising a bit rapidly now. He got Yuuta to hold the camera on Ryoma while he whispered something in Ryoma's ear. Knowing from the expression on the boy's face, it wasn't going to be fun to film. Yuuta wasn't sure why he wouldn't move, his mind was free to move away from the situation but his legs were too stiff to move. Like he was in the spotlight of some stage performance.

Mizuki chuckled softly and began to unbutton the boy's school shirt, revealing the ivory skin tone. Ryoma shut his eyes as Mizuki trailed his finger up and down the middle of his chest. Behind the camera, Yuuta felt sick to his stomach and a guilty conscience was slowly approaching the back of his mind.

"Hey, Echizen. Do you touch yourself at the thought of Sanada-san? Picture me as Sanada. I'll be gentle, Ryoma." Mizuki began kissing the side of Ryoma's head while he let his hand slide into Ryoma's pants.

Yuuta couldn't stand to watch the camera even as Mizuki planned out the next plot. Yuuta looked around and saw a piece of equipment that was just the right height to hold the camera in position while he left to get a clearer mind. Yuuta snuck out of the room and sat up against the gym wall, putting his head in his hands.

He wouldn't have agreed to do this if he knew what he was going to do. He knew it was going too far this time but couldn't help but go along with what Mizuki told him.

He heard a loud shuffling noise coming from inside and rushed in quickly in case Mizuki needed him. He was shocked to the spot as he stared at the horrifying sight. Mizuki had the boy pinned beneath him and he was trying to force Ryoma's underwear off but Ryoma was using both his legs to hold him off.

"M-Mizuki, what are you doing?" It was as though Yuuta had seen the devil for its true self. Mizuki had spun his head around in a slow manner and had a strange smile that made him look a bit crazy.

Yuuta gulped and backed away, letting Mizuki carry on with the task he was doing in the first place. Tears had been running down Ryoma's cheek and Yuuta was placed with a burden on his shoulders. His brother's voice began to make itself heard amongst the darkness of his mind as he tried to block out the righteousness of his older brother. It was as though it were a last minute timing to a bomb that was about to go off. Wouldn't he do anything he could to help a girl from getting the same treatment? He couldn't think of any other solution but to help Ryoma out of such a problem that happened because of him.

"Mizuki, maybe we should get at him another way." Mizuki was not listening this time and had his mind fixed on Ryoma and his body.

Yuuta looked away to figure out a plan. He began to doubt himself on his strength on prying Mizuki off of Ryoma. Hearing a sudden silence inside the room, Yuuta peeked his head around the corner and had to put a hand over his mouth as he turned away again.

His senpai was now on the verge of losing his place on his own team. And the worst of all, it was all going on the tape. Mizuki chuckled as he saw the huffing and puffing that Ryoma was doing now. Yuuta heard the sound of the tape coming off of Ryoma's mouth and he looked again to see that Ryoma was coughing up blood.

Yuuta looked away while Mizuki pulled out of Ryoma's body and did his pants up and fiddled with the video camera. Before Mizuki could say any more dark comments to the camera, the doors to the gym itself opened like a dark hole had forced them to pull open. Yuuta backed away slowly after realizing who it was.

Ryoma coughed again and this drew in an anger that Sanada could not explain. Yuuta looked at Mizuki and then back at Sanada and took off like a speed of light, leaving Mizuki behind to pay for the crime. Walking quickly toward the open equipment room, Sanada looked past Mizuki and the camera and his eyebrows sewed themselves together in a fury, Sanada took one glance at his fallen Echizen and another look at Mizuki and his camera.

"Hey, let's talk this out, Sana-" Sanada wasted no time in punching the other man in between the eyes, knocking the camera out of his hands at the same time.

Mizuki fell to the floor in agony as he held his nose with both hands while Sanada untied the frozen-state Echizen and took off his own shirt to cover his lower half up. With care, he picked up the shivering boy and held him tightly in his arms, walking away and out the gym doors.

Still in a bit of shock of seeing Ryoma like this, Sanada let Echizen down on a bench that was parked outside of the school building and away from the classes and all the people. Ryoma coughed up some blood again but stayed curled up in a ball and didn't want to seem to move a whole lot. Sanada tried to calm Echizen down by placing his arms around him but it only made things worse for Ryoma.

"I promise not to leave you alone again. I'm sorry, Ryoma." Sanada lowered his head in shame and held Ryoma's face with his hands.

"Sanada-senpai...it hurts." Another tear rolled down Ryoma's cheek just as he tried to get up.

"Don't push yourself." Sanada quickly embraced Echizen so that he could get Ryoma to sleep faster.

'I'll get you for this, Mizuki!' Sanada thought as he kissed Echizen's head and picked the boy up and carried him to his own house. He would have to inform his parents about the sudden sleep over.

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**A/n: Poor Ryoma-kun! I hate Mizuki! Anyways, you know the rules, R and R!**


	8. Silenced pain

**Yes, yes, I finally have my internet back after 6-7 months. I am truly sorry that I could not update any fics for the whole summer! But I'll make it up to you readers, the best way I can! Went swinging for my first time in 10 years! Sure missed swinging lol.**

**Disclaimer: I do not and never did own Prince of Tennis.**

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The sleep over that Sanada had explained to his parents had now turned into a week's vacation as the private results of Echizen's condition rested in the palm of the doctor's hand. The man was a short and plump man who wore glasses whenever he needed to read small printing. Sanada had a hard time keeping himself under control after the previous week of events. His fingers twitched every time he heard the sound of nurses and doctors rushing on the spot to get down the other end of the hall. Just the thought of losing his new best friend caused the hair on his arms to stand still.

The plump doctor looked at Sanada with interest and then back at the clip board he had been holding. His free hand plucked at what little chin hairs he had as his mind wandered to deep thinking. Then finally, he spoke.

"He should be all right now. But I strongly suggest for him to be placed under the care of this hospital. I'll take you in to see him now." Sanada was nervous at what the doctor might have found within Echizen's body but he had to put up a brave face.

The doctor smiled as they walked through the door of Echizen's room and held the clipboard up to his face, examining the procedures. The boy's body had been through a great amount of shock and that didn't need to be tested. It was plain common sense that the body and the mind were in shock. The doctor whispered something in Sanada's ear and patted him on the back as he left the room to give them a bit of privacy.

As much as Sanada wanted to hold him, he felt distant and unsure of himself after taking one more look at Ryoma's bruised body. The boy himself was fully awake and aware of what happened the previous week but looked as cheerful as he had before it happened. Ryoma's smile brought Sanada back to earth and allowed him to wipe out the terrible nightmare that had been playing all through out his week with Echizen.

"The doctor said I must have had a dizzy spell during the week from what I told him. I want to go home, Sanada-san." Tears watered Ryoma's eyes as he tried to hold them back.

Silently but noticeable, Sanada sat down on the chair that was sitting next to Ryoma's bed. His hat held firmly in his hands. The half opened window drew in a good amount of air to circulate the room of its heated temperature. Ryoma's tears were now only bringing up the sick and twisted display that Mizuki had presented. Since that time, they had heard nothing from Mizuki or Yuuta's current involvement of tennis matches. Sanada thought back to the exact moment he tore the tape from Mizuki's video camera and threw it in a garbage truck.

Ryoma's classes and upcoming tennis matches had been postponed by an anonymous caller. Although grateful for the thought and concern for Echizen's safety, Sanada could not let his guard down. The situation was proving to be difficult to keep staying in touch and Sanada could tell it would only cause Ryoma pain in the long run. He would put an end to Echizen's suffering.

"Ryoma. I…I'm sorry to bring trouble to you this past week. I only end up hurting you. Maybe…you should forget about me." The tears that were coming from Ryoma's eyes, stopped at the awkward sentence.

"W-why? Was it Mizuki-san? I promise not to let him near me!" Sanada stood up as soon as he heard those words.

"You can not run from who you were born to be, Echizen. Mizuki and Yuuta are players from other teams, if you forget about me now…you'll see me next time at some unexpected event sooner or later. Although it is true that no one knows your other side but me. I'll stay quiet that you can't play tennis. Because I know you can, Ryoma."

With the sentence 'forget about me' stuck in Ryoma's head, it was the only words that Echizen kept replaying over and over again. The image of Sanada walking away without turning back was beginning to creep back into Ryoma's memory bank.

"I can't believe it's all coming true. I knew you would do that! You'll walk out that door soon and…I'll never see you again." The tears came down like giant water slides down his face and his eyes were beginning to redden under the pressure of his constant rubbing.

Sanada put his cap back on his head and bent over Echizen's sobbing face. The feeling of the atmosphere came back as warm and gentle as Sanada's lips that met Ryoma's. Ryoma's heart began to beat faster and his face was flushed with excitement and anxiety. His eyes were partially open in case the unexpected should happen. He knew it wasn't possible to do such embarrassing things in a hospital of all places. But he also didn't want to push Sanada away from such small acts. The tears stopped falling from his face and Echizen was instantly swept up in the battle of tongues. Sanada pulled back for a brief second to let Ryoma catch his breath and went at it again, this time pushing Echizen down onto the hospital bed.

The pillows that acted as Ryoma's support had now taken on a heavier occupant and were now getting squashed between the two and the bed itself. All thoughts that Sanada had previously thought of were gone in an instant and everything he had already said to Echizen were now fading to the back of his mind as the two of them struggled to release their feelings without hurting the other. Both of their eyes were closed and both had a hard time supporting themselves on a half-raised bed.

Ryoma quickly pulled away from Sanada and began to cough. Sanada knew that his body must have remembered something from the previous week. The sudden jolt surprised him at first but he understood what it meant and he immediately stopped his actions and ruffled his hair.

"I take back what I said, Ryoma. When you get discharged tomorrow, I'll pick you up. I love you, Ryoma. Wait for me." With that said, the older male walked out of the hospital room.

Ryoma was at a loss on what to think of the situation. He was confused whether things were Ok between them or not. His throat was parched from coughing during his first few nights there and the hospital food wasn't much to brag about. His head felt like it was about to erupt and he settled back down on the bed to rest his eyes for the rest of the day. He turned over on his side to face the window and went to sleep.

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The next morning Echizen awoke to a surprise visit from his mother. Ryoma couldn't stand to look his mother in the eye and explain what had happened to him. But that's what surprised him even more than her visit. She knew all along what had happened and it was the very reason she came to meet him.

"Ryoma, why didn't you tell me? Sanada-kun told me everything." Ryoma sat up in a startled motion. His head was still hurting him but it was not as bad as the previous nights at the hospital when he had first arrived.

"Sanada-senpai…what did he say?" The feeling of guilt and being ashamed came at him like a wasp nest about to strike their next victim. It was a feeling he never wanted to feel ever again.

"Well, he explained you were going to have a sleep over at his place for the weekend but then he told me that you had fallen over the railing in a nearby park and was knocked out unconscious. He said by the time you came to, the doctors had already done their tests on you. Oh you must take better care of yourself, Ryoma." His mother although putting on a brave face, broke down crying.

"I'm sorry, mom. Thanks for coming over. I feel a little better now." Ryoma smiled to reassure her he was really feeling better. She accepted the smile by smiling back and wiped away her fallen tears.

His mother's smiling suddenly brought back a painful memory but Ryoma stopped himself before his mother could realize what was wrong with him. The memories he had wanted to forget were invading his reality and were beginning to cause him trouble. With a wave of his hand, Ryoma's mother got the just of what her son was telling her. He needed the rest and she would give it to him. She left the room in a cheerful mood then when she did coming in.

Echizen gripped his covers and gritted his teeth with his eyes closed. The pain in his head had returned with brutal force, pounding inside like a drum unable to stop. He would have called for a pain killer of some sort but the calling button for the nurses was nowhere to be seen. He was left with nothing but endurance. He let out an exhausted sigh as though it were his last breath of air and lied back on the pillows.

'Sanada-san, am I cursed? Why?' He thought as his eyes fell in place to get a bit more rest before having to get discharged that day and having to go back to school with his annoying class mates. Did he just think of them as annoying?

His eyes snapped opened at the sudden thought of having thinking that his ultra loud class mates would be seen as stupid and annoying. He hated himself for ever thinking of such things. Here they were probably worried sick to death about what could have happened to him during the previous week and he was just thinking about their unnecessary actions of constant babbling and gossiping. But it made them who they were and he felt heartless not knowing their real personalities until now.

Nothing seemed to matter to him until the day of his major accident at the tennis court at home and it was a wonder that he could remember something that happened two to three weeks ago. The memory that was filled with nothing but weird things came up as something else. Pain, misery and self loathing were eating him up each day. But only one man seemed to take it all away in the blink of an eye. Sanada. The only person that had awakened him from his coma; to think he had such a high respect for the man and Ryoma had nothing to show for it but three simple words that he just couldn't say.

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**A/n: Hope you liked the small chapter; I will update more as soon as I'm clear I have nothing upcoming in my schedule! **


	9. Ryoma breaks out

**Well I hope you're ready to read a long one, because this is pretty long I must say. Thank you all for reading Beautiful Echizen, this story is def. far from over!**

***Ahem* Now, in the last chapter we looked at how Ryoma-kun was unable to bear the sudden memories that his mind had tried to wipe clean. We've also seen how distraught and torn apart Ryoma was just by the thought of thinking about annoying class mates!**

**Sanada-san hasn't seemed to realize it much but, I'll give you a hint, the old Ryoma is coming back from a long slumber and today, girls/boys, there will be a major scene concerning these two, so be prepared!**

**Warning: Contains male/male interaction and terrible language and some good loving! CONTAINS LEMON! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!**

**Disclaimer: I have no right to own this wonderful masterpiece of fine filming.**

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That very same day, Echizen was discharged and was picked up by Sanada as he had promised he would be. It had been the first time that Ryoma was able to see the inside of the other man's house. Since the incident, Echizen had been in the hospital getting checked, inside and out. The sleepover business had been Sanada's idea to ease Echizen's parents, but Ryoma found out in the end, Sanada could not keep quiet about his accident when Ryoma's mother was around. So he told her a complete lie but told the doctor the truth. Echizen wasn't sure how his friends at school would react nor would the tennis team. It was all a matter of patience. Ryoma's wounds were not much to be gazed at as they were hidden evidence of clear rape. The doctor had not spoken a word about the situation to his mother but insisted for the boy to get some good rest before doing anything too strenuous on the lower part of his body.

Along with a cane, Ryoma was all set to walk about, just not as fast as he could before. Ryoma hated the cane that looked like it was designed for older people such as his father. But since it helped him to walk around better, he wouldn't complain unless need be. Sanada's parents had been away on business trips and would not be back until the next few months. The house was completely deserted except for the occasional crow or pigeon that would find its way through Sanada's back yard, trying to take off with some of Sanada's freshly grown fruit from his mother's garden.

"I'll set up the room. You should go take a bath." A bath was what Ryoma really needed as the hospital wasn't so keen as to let him have one while the tests were being done in fear of the bath removing any signs of change.

Ryoma watched as Sanada was about to leave to one of the other rooms. Before Sanada could do that, Echizen spoke up. "OK. Where is it?" Sanada smiled and pointed down to the door just at the end of the hall.

"Just go straight down to the door there. I'll check up on you after I'm done setting up the extra room." Ryoma's face went red at how thoughtful Sanada was being toward him.

With one swift nod of his head, Ryoma began limping his way toward the bathroom. He could still feel the blank stare coming from behind and it caused him to get anxious. His heart was pounding so fast that his mind began to fill up with ideas of his heart pounding right out of his chest. He had never in his life felt like this with anyone, especially not with any of the girls at his school. When he finally got into the bathroom itself, he was not too surprised to see how spacey everything looked. The sink was nice and tidy and was organized very well with two bars of soap on the soap stand.

The toothbrushes were all placed together in a cup while their toothpaste was set aside on a pink hand towel. Ryoma set the cane next to a chair near the bath tub itself and closed the door for more privacy and began taking off his clothes one by one, flinching at the sudden pains he got in his stomach and on his shoulders. His ivory skin tone had been bruised by Mizuki's cold hands and each one of them set off a bad memory to Ryoma. When it came down to taking his own pants off, Ryoma was hesitant. He cautiously undid the button and zipper and pulled down his pants as far as his back would allow him and let them fall to the floor around his feet. As he did with his pants, Ryoma took his underwear off with caution too. His hands jolted whenever he went near his lower half. It was a painful memory one right after the other and he wondered if this nightmare would ever leave him alone.

He looked at his body in the mirror and examined the very places he was touched. Just the thought gave his stomach a turn for the worst. How could he have been so stupid as to let Mizuki have his way with him? The sudden thought of Mizuki's devilish and twisted face caused Ryoma to cough up. A knock on the door startled him but he recomposed himself and walked toward the door as best as he could. When Ryoma went to open the door, Sanada was just about to knock at the same time and had been leaning against the door. The older teen lost his balance and fell forward but caught his fall before he could fall on top of Ryoma.

"Sorry. Are you alright?" Sanada asked as he looked over Echizen's startled face that expressed more than just the regular surprised look. The boy was glaring.

But what got Sanada's attention wasn't how weird Ryoma was acting around him. The boy seemed to be glaring up at him instead of the usual look he had seen in Echizen's eyes for the past few weeks before his problem with Mizuki. The eyes that shone care and compassion towards those around him were now cold and heartless like they had been when he had first fought with him in one of the tournaments. It was the old Echizen coming back.

"Sanada-san? Where am I?" His usual tone of voice that said he didn't care about the world, returned and gave Sanada a shiver down his spine.

"My house…do you…remember anything, Echizen?" Ryoma looked around and a sudden jolt of pain ran through his head.

Sanada knew this day would come when some part of him wouldn't remember their past events or the hurting that Ryoma had encountered. But his body would remember. Sanada was hesitating as to whether he should inform Ryoma of what had happened to him this past week and how he had been behaving.

"I remember you walking out on me. It hurts!" Ryoma exclaimed and he put both hands over his eyes. Sanada could see the boy was crying.

"Ryoma, you were in a coma for about a week or so, you were asleep while the doctors did some tests on you. You'll be fine, you just need some rest. I guess your bath can wait unless…you want me to bathe you?" The sudden question brought Ryoma back to his senses.

Echizen then realized that he was only in his underwear. He blushed and tried to cover himself but Sanada was faster at reading Ryoma's face. Sanada quickly grabbed a towel from the towel rack and dropped it over Ryoma's head.

"It's fine. I'll take one by myself." Ryoma was about to get up from the floor when he felt his legs go weak. In that instant, he dropped to the floor like a sack of bricks being dropped from a very high floor.

"Echizen!" Sanada rushed to the boy's aid but Ryoma shoved him off and got up but with very little effort.

Sanada was in pain to see what Ryoma was going through. "There…was one thing I didn't mention before. You…were raped by Mizuki. The doctor and I agreed to not tell your mom but…you still remember those awful memories and it was a week ago!" Sanada surprised Echizen by putting his arms around his shoulders.

"S-Sanada-san?" Ryoma knew there was more to this story than Sanada was telling him.

Sanada's grip on Ryoma's shoulder, intensified. All Ryoma could do was stand there and allow the older teen to keep holding him as he patted Sanada's back. What was it that he couldn't remember and why was Sanada's pained face hurting him as well? Ryoma wanted answers and knew Sanada was hiding a little bit more.

"I'm sorry, Echizen., for what I'm about to do." Ryoma gasped at the sudden dry lips that met his collar bone.

Blushing, Ryoma tried to pry himself away from Sanada's clutches. A jolt of pain went up his spinal cord just as another memory flashed back to him. The same feeling he felt with Mizuki arose and Ryoma could feel his stomach turn upside down. But then, if he could remember what Mizuki's hands had felt like, was it possible that Sanada was not lying to him? Sanada's hands felt cold and rough to his skin but Ryoma didn't feel scared like he used to be when the memory had come around.

"Mizuki…did this too?" Sanada stopped after kissing Ryoma's cheek and looked straight into Echizen's eyes.

"No. He was a monster, Ryoma. I'm gentle; I put your feelings into consideration. Do you...despise me?" When Sanada saw the small shake of his head, no, Sanada smiled and continued to smother Ryoma with kisses.

Sanada finally noticed that they were not lying in some place warm or comfortable so with Echizen's approval, Sanada picked him up in his arms and carried him to the room he had laid out for him. Sanada laid Ryoma down on the single bed, hovering over the boy's shivering and half naked body. It was quiet and peace-sounding with just the clock on the wall ticking away the time. Ryoma's blushing face put a few dirty thoughts into Sanada's mind as the older male leaned forward and planted a kiss on Ryoma's lips.

With one leg brushed up against the side of Sanada's, Ryoma felt strange but safe at the same time. His heart had accelerated in speed and his head was swirling with anxiety. Although Ryoma didn't feel like reaching and grabbing for anything in particular, he gently took Sanada's cap off his head and placed it aside. Sanada caressed Ryoma's face as he drifted his free hand over the other boy's chest.

"I can't hold back, Echizen." Sanada dove at Ryoma's face like he was bobbing for apples and slipped Ryoma the tongue.

Ryoma's panting got heavier with each breath he could take if Sanada wasn't already closing the gap between them. The last kiss in that moment took Ryoma by surprise as Sanada felt the lump between the boy's legs.

"D-don't! Ah!" Sanada kissed Ryoma's chest passionately while keeping his eyes on the boy's facial expressions. Sanada's current position was in his favor and he planned on keeping that position. Being on top was fun.

He continued to kiss Ryoma's abdomen and stomach until he got to the boy's underwear that stood in Sanada's way of seeing Ryoma's complete body. A blush grew over Sanada's cheeks as he stared in wonder as if he were about to unravel the biggest mystery of his life. Both Ryoma and Sanada were blushing and staring at each other with anticipation and wonder.

"Please, Sanada-sempai." Sanada could see that Ryoma had reverted to his other self that had been accompanying him since he had gotten out of the hospital from his first coma. Sanada gulped loudly and gently grabbed hold of both sides of Echizen's underwear.

Ryoma held onto Sanada's bed sheet that was underneath him while Sanada pulled his underwear off completely, tossing the undergarments to the pine wooden floor. Moaning with pleasure that Sanada was making him feel like this only got him excited and panting more each time Sanada bobbed his head up and down.

"I…I think I'm going to…ah!" Before the boy could say anything else, Sanada had flipped Ryoma onto his knees while undoing his own shorts.

"It's not over yet, Ryoma." Sanada kissed Ryoma's cheek while he pulled the boy backward, letting him slide onto his pulsating lower member.

The pain engulfed Ryoma's buttocks but felt surprisingly good at the same time. Still blushing, Ryoma let out another moan and gripped the bed sheets while Sanada pushed in and then back out again. To Ryoma, it felt like he was breathing for two people at once. Sanada surprised Ryoma a second time around as he dropped himself at the other end of the bed, pulling Ryoma with him, making it so that Ryoma would be sitting on his lap.

"S-Sanada-san!" The sweat poured off the both of them like evaporated water and dropped like small pellets, splashing against bare skin.

The heat was rushing to both of their heads and before they could tell what was what anymore, they both let out long deep breaths. Ryoma stayed straddled to Sanada's lower hip and clung to the older male's shoulders for support. He'd be on the floor had it not been for Sanada's strong muscles.

Sweat came as natural as the water did when it rained and slid down their arms and their legs as well as their faces. Feeling as though he had walked a mile-marathon, Ryoma laid his head against Sanada's shoulder bone, feeling the other teen's pulse upon impact. If there was one thing Ryoma was wishing for, he would put a stop to time itself and hope that Sanada and he could last as long as they have; which wasn't much to say since Mizuki's interference. But for the mean time, Ryoma felt happy being in the older man's arms.

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**A/N: I certainly do have my work cut out for me, as I will be going to college, hopefully, pretty soon, so I'll be busy planning out all the pairings I have laid out, so look forward to more updates! READ AND REVIEW! That is all. Oh and I'll be posting up fan pics of my current parings, Example: ItachiXNaruto, SanadaXRyoma, ShikamaruXNaruto, TonyXRudolph(Little Vampire movie) So, Yes, that is what I have dedicated my time for. My internet is a bit fussy at the moment…still…BUT, I will not stop posting up my updates, maybe I'll get a laptop or something…**


	10. Surprising father

**I hope this doesn't run on for too long, but then again, why should it ever end?**

**WARNING: Contains fluffy shounen-ai!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own POT!**

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Ryoma awoke with a start as the sound of a screeching car came to a halt just outside Sanada's home, nearly giving both of them a heart attack. Sanada peered outside his window, gazing at the seemingly old man that had stopped at his porch and looked to be snooping into his mail box.

Seeing what all the commotion was about, Ryoma got up out of the bed that he and Sanada had been laying in from the previous night and rubbed his eyes groggily. Naked from head to toe and wandering around with nothing on in another man's home was not something to be proud of but it was for Ryoma since he remembered whose house it was.

As for the man who had been standing outside, snooping around in other people's mail, he began to pound on the door. Ryoma caught sight of the man and recognized the man's face. In a hurry, he rushed to find his clothes in the bedroom while Sanada was left to ponder whether this man was lost or not.

"Pants…" Ryoma thought that if he called out to his outer clothing, that they would magically appear somehow.

He found them under a few pillows that had been tossed from the bed during their 'playtime' of last night. Just remembering very little was enough to get the boy flustered.

"Uh, Ryoma, do you know him?" Sanada asked as he suddenly barged in without knocking and with the boy's father right beside him to boot.

Ryoma was stunned to see that his father had caught him with no shirt on. Now he was bound to ask questions! What had his father seen that Ryoma _didn't _put on yet? He had his pants so it was fine but being shirtless was just as worse.

The boy smiled meekly at his father but once he saw a stern look on his father's face, he knew well enough that his father was already unhappy. Feeling guilty about dragging Sanada into the mad mess, Ryoma said his goodbyes and left with his father after he found his shirt.

Ryoma was upset and the father knew it. But what was he supposed to do? His wife was told one thing but the doctor had told him a whole other story. He wasn't bound to let his boy get taken in by some stranger from another tennis team!

"Dad…I'm sorry if I scared you." His father chuckled quietly at this remark.

"What are you talking about, you just disappeared is all and told your mother a big fat lie…" Ryoma could tell his father was angry with him and could see the evidence within the car. His father had been digging his nails into the car steering wheel.

After a wonderful night, his father had to come and ruin his morning with Sanada. The man was probably worried about him right about now.

'Sanada-san…' Ryoma looked up to the sky, hanging out his head over the window.

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**A/n: Sorry if I have to cut this short but this fic isn't so long, Next time, Mizuki's evil plot!**


	11. Depression sets in

**I wrote this out during class before the holidays came around; yea I got plenty of free time for it!**

**Warning: Contains scheming (As always!)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Prince of tennis series.**

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Ryoma's father had grounded his son for going behind his back and got Ryoma's mother involved on the situation; so much for a father and son talk. And as days flew by without Ryoma and Sanada meeting or greeting, the entire class of girls from Ryoma's class who had all seen with their own eyes how starry eyed Ryoma looked and now his eyes were dull grey like they had been before his accident. But Ryoma was beginning to get the hang of it even when he was constantly reminded of Sanada through the other tennis players.

As for his team mates, Momoshiro and Inui, had visited him as often as possible when off from doing their practice matches for the day but neither could lighten up the boy's spirit. They had seen him at the beginning of the week playing baseball in his gym class but saw that he had not participated for the game. Neither of them understood what could be going through their young player's mind nor were they given the time and day to worry for Tezuka had instructed them to leave the problem to Echizen. But even their captain couldn't take it anymore, so he visited the boy himself after class during lunch break.

"Echizen, do you have a minute?" The said boy looked up from what he was doing and straightened up when he saw that it was Tezuka.

"Yeah…" Ryoma then looked down at his desk knowing full well what the man wanted to talk about with him. But he got up from his seat anyway and followed Tezuka out to the courts of the tennis team, to where their team had been playing some matches.

Some of the members who were not playing or participating at all in the matches, which occasionally included Horio and his two other friends, noticed the captain speaking to Echizen.

"Echizen, you're not coming to our practice matches and I've been kept in the dark about your personal problems but I really wish you'd think your actions through. It just might cost us our next games." Ryoma was hurt by these words as he was not the one in the wrong but apparently only he knew such things.

'Sanada would have…' Ryoma took a pause in his thoughts. Was he just about to say that Sanada would have said something more comforting?

Either way the boy looked at it, this current situation was leading him down a more difficult path on top of having delusions about seeing a mirror image in his dreams of himself. All he wanted to do was follow Sanada to wherever the other young man walked. Now that he did that, he was feeling more horrible about tennis then ever before.

Ryoma looked up to the captain of the Seigaku tennis team and made sure the man met with his glaring eyes. "I hate tennis! Sanada-san was wrong about this team! My skills in ever playing…I quit!" Ryoma's shouting caused a stir among the regulars and all of them stopped their matches to see what had gotten to Echizen's head.

As Oishi had come around, Ryoma was already running past Horio and the others, leaving behind confused faces and more rumors to spread. What Ryoma had said had gotten Tezuka's attention and he himself began to question the thoughts he had when he had set Ryoma up in playing matches the boy probably never even wanted to play in. Nurturing and training the boy's strength with a ball and a racquet was on a whole other subject to if the boy ever wanted to join the team or not.

It was bad enough that Inui was not actually apart of the team as much as he would have liked the man to be, and now they would have to see Echizen off as well. "What's gotten the kid so upset?" Momoshiro, the young man was always next to Echizen whenever something was troubling the boy and was sort of there for him to get the boy out of trouble but now Tezuka could see that Sanada was beginning to fill that role.

"I'm not sure. But I don't think Echizen will rethink his actions this time. Momo, talk to Echizen and see what you can dig up on his 'problem'." Tezuka wasn't so sure if he should say the word 'problem' as he would have thought the situation to be.

Later in the afternoon, Ryoma found himself wallowing in self pity as he rethought the words in his head. The words he had told to Tezuka had might as well been for everyone. But what was he supposed to do? He told Sanada that he hated tennis but yet the man insisted that he try it out and that he had great skills that no one could match up to if he just kept practicing. But these days, he was under house arrest with his father around while his mother was trying to get him out of the mess. Ryoma smiled. The only time he felt at ease in stressful times like these, were with his mother or cousin or even Sanada.

'I doubt I'll ever be allowed on those courts after the way I spoke out today…' Ryoma thought as he popped a bubble in his bathtub and allowed the steam from the hot water to seep into his skin.

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**A/n: Sorry if it's so short, got a lot of uploads but I'm not trying to rush this, I wanted to save the rest for a new chapter!**


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